Prisoner Escapes

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether any prisoners serving a sentence for murder are still unlawfully at large following an escape or abscond since 1 April 2004.

Jeremy Wright: Escapes have been falling for over a decade with the current low levels having been sustained for some years now. This is despite considerable increases in population over the same period. Despite a slight increase in 2012-13, absconds have been falling for nearly two decades.
	The following table shows the number of absconders still unlawfully at large who have an index offence of murder. There are currently no prisoners unlawfully at large with an index offence of murder who have escaped from prison or prison escort. This information was correct as of 3 March 2014.
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of absconders still unlawfully at large, with index offence of murder, by financial year 
			 Financial year Index offence of murder 
			 2004-05 0 
			 2005-06 1 
			 2006-07 2 
			 2007-08 0 
			 2008-09 0 
			 2009-10 0 
			 2010-11 0 
			 2011-12 0 
			 2012-13 0 
			 Note: These figures have been drawn from live administrative data systems which may be amended at any time. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. 
		
	
	Figures for the number of escapes and absconds since 1995 are provided in the Prison Digest contained in the Prison and Probation Trusts Performance Statistics. This can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/225234/prison-performance-digest-12-13.xls